Rana Kapoor’s Yes Bank which is under scanner over allegations of financial irregularities, prospered greatly during the UPA regime. According to the IPO filing [pdf] of the bank the Government Relationship Management (GRM) group of Yes Bank group has “developed robust relationships with over 300 entities across India”. Not limited to that, Yes Bank had also provided financial and advisory services to Ministries of the Union Government.
Source: Yes Bank’s 2011 IPO Filings
The bank incorporated in 2004 and the above filing was done in 2011. Yes Bank stated, “The GRM Group at YES Bank understands the financial needs of the Union and State Government undertakings and agencies in their progress and development role of a Growing India through its Knowledge Banking approach. This is further facilitated through YES Bank’s Technology leadership delivering proven, easy-to-use solutions for Government Undertakings and Agencies.”
“YES Bank has provided financial and advisory services to Ministries of the Union Government, State Governments, Central & State Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and Agencies. YES Bank remains committed to delivering innovative, structured and comprehensive solutions, and has accomplished several landmark transactions in this space with Maharatnas, Navratnas, Mini Ratnas and other Apex Institutions. In a short span of 6.5 years, the GRM group has developed robust relationships with over 300 entities across India,” it added.
Such progress within the space of six and a half years is likely to raise a few eyebrows. It has also been revealed that a letter dated 1st May, 2010 has emerged written by senior Congress leader Milind Deora, the then Member of Parliament, to Yes Bank chief Rana Kapoor, suggesting he buys the Rajiv Gandhi painting in Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s possession.
The Congress-Gandhi link in Yes Bank surfaced after it was revealed that founder Rana Kapoor had bought Priyanka Gandhi’s paintings for Rs. 2 crore rupees. The massive expose comes after Rana Kapoor was questioned for almost 30 hours by the Enforcement Directorate. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor under money laundering charges in the wee hours of Sunday.
The Patiala House Court of Delhi has sent Mohammed Danish, a member of the radical Islamist Popular Front of India (PFI), to four days in judicial custody. The 33-year-old and a resident of Trilokpuri area was apprehended by Delhi Police Special Cell for spreading false propaganda during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Delhi’s Patiala House Court sends Danish (who was arrested by Delhi Police’s special cell for spreading false propaganda during anti-CAA protest) to four days of police remand. According to Delhi Police, he is a member of PFI (Popular Front of India). https://t.co/dzZa67CL4I
On February 2, Uttar Pradesh Police arrested 10 of members of PFI. Four of them were arrested from Muzaffarnagar in the state, while the others were held from different parts of Uttar Pradesh. They were arrested for anti-CAA riots that broke out on the 20th of December 2018.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) report had indicated a massive PFI hand in inciting violence by Muslim mobs all across Uttar Pradesh. It had also revealed several transactions to 73 bank accounts worth Rs 120 crores. During this investigation, huge amounts were also transferred from PFI to Congress leader Kapil Sibal and lawyer Indira Jaising. Kapil Sibal had later threatened to sue the media if this link was brought up.
In January this year, Kanpur police had nabbed 5 members of PFI who were planning to disrupt chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s visit to Kanpur by protesting against the CAA. The police had asserted that all 5 arrested were absconding since the December 20 violence and were charged under various sections of the IPC for instigating violence, rioting and attempt to murder.
The Uttar Pradesh police on Monday also arrested the state head of PFI, Waseem in December 2019 and his two aides, namely, Nadeem and Ashfaq for allegedly masterminding the violence during the anti-CAA protests held in Lucknow.
The Kamal Nath Government in Madhya Pradesh is suffering a grave crisis as 17 MLAs have staged a rebellion, ABP News has reported. The 17 rebels include 6 Ministers in the Congress cabinet who are believed to belong to the Jyotiraditya Scindia faction of the party. The rebels have been taken to Bengaluru, which lies in a BJP-ruled state.
Nagarjun Dwarkanath of India Today has said on social media that the personal assistant of Jyotiraditya Scindia has also landed in Bengaluru.
As per passenger list Congress general Secretary Mr Scindia’s PA also landed in Bangalore https://t.co/W4UAM9ekQL
The six Madhya Pradesh ministers who have rebelled are Pradyumn Singh Tomar, Tulsi Silawat, Govind Rajput, Prabhuram Choudhary, Imarti Devi, and Mahendra Sisodiya. Apart from the Ministers, the others who have reportedly rebelled are Rajvardhan Singh, OPS Bhadoriya, Giriraj Dandotiya, Bijendra Yadav, Jaspal Jajji, Ranvir Jatav, Kamlesh Jatav, Raksha Sironiya, Munna Lal Goyal, Suresh Dhakad, Rghuraj Kasana and Hardeep Singh Dang. Among them, Dang has even submitted his resignation.
Another MLA, Bisahu Lal Singh, reached Bhopal from Bengaluru yesterday. However, according to the report, BJP sources have said that Singh is still with them and he has gone to Bhopal only after assuring them that he will stand with the BJP when necessary. It is believed that on the first day of the new Assembly session itself, which begins on the 16th of March, the BJP will introduce a no-confidence motion which the party will hope to pass with assistance from the rebels within the Congress party.
The Kamal Nath government has 120 MLAs – four over the majority mark of 116 in the 230-member assembly. Of them, 114 are from the Congress, two from the BSP, one from the Samajwadi Party and four independents. The BJP has 107 MLAs and two seats are currently vacant.
A Muslim couple with links to the terrorist organization Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP) was nabbed by Delhi Police from south Delhi’s Jamia Nagar on Sunday. The couple is believed to have been in touch with senior ISKP members in Afghanistan and were trying to exploit the ongoing riots to incite Muslims to carry out terror strikes within the country.
The couple, Jehanjeb Sami and Hinda Bashir Beg, a couple from Srinagar, were arrested yesterday by the Delhi police for alleged links to ISIS. According to intelligence officials, Jahanzaib Sami was also in touch with Huzaifa al-Bakistani, the Pakistani commander of the Islamic State’s Khorasan wing who played a key role in efforts to radicalise Kashmiri youngsters to join the terror group.
Jahanzaib Sami’s wife Hina Bashir Beigh was also active on pro-IS handles on social media and facilitated in spotting what the group considered ‘talent’ for its terror activities, a senior Police officer said.
Now it has been revealed that the couple operated an OSINT account on Twitter. OSINT is short for Open Source Intelligence, that is, data collected from publicly available sources to be used in an intelligence context. The couple operated an account on the social media platform with the username @kashmirosint. The handle has since then been deleted.
source: IB Times
The bio of the account said, “OSINT, news and stories from Kashmir, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.” The location was set to Discord, presumably referring to the messaging app. According to an individual who used to follow him on Twitter long ago, KashmirOsint used to post pictures of the border, cross border shelling, images from Pakistan and sometimes, they posted raw pictures. The Indian Government had withheld their account in India.
On Twitter, we discovered that the handle KashmirOsint had conversations with NDTV journalist Nidhi Razdan. We can only see Nidhi’s side of the conversation, therefore, we have no way of knowing what was actually being discussed.
Nidhi Razdan’s conversations with KashmirOsint
Numerous emojis were also exchanged between Nidhi and KashmirOsint, the handle which is now known to have been operated by terrorists. However, due to the fact that the twitter handle no longer exists, we have no idea of knowing the context of these conversations.
Nidhi Razdan’s conversations with KashmirOsint
The handle was apparently very popular within the research community and media. There are numerous OSINT accounts on Twitter and the agenda of these accounts is most often not known. Most of them operate from relative obscurity and they are mostly anonymous accounts. Given the nature of these accounts, it is easy to spread disinformation for sinister objectives in the name of OSINT as well.
The Rana Kapoor-Priyanka Gandhi Vadra painting row seems to be getting murkier and murkier as more details emerge in the ongoing investigation. Sources have revealed that a letter dated 1st May, 2010 has emerged written by senior Congress leader Milind Deora, the then Member of Parliament, to Yes Bank chief Rana Kapoor, suggesting he buys the Rajiv Gandhi painting in Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s possession.
Milind Deora’s letter to Yes Bank’s Rana Kapoor
In the letter, he mentions that the painting which Kapoor is desirous of purchasing and for the same he should get in touch with Priyanka Gandhi as she and her family members would be willing to sell the painting ‘if buyer will keep it safely with the respect it deserves’.
Following this, on 8th May, Deora again wrote to Kapoor urgently seeking time to speak to him. A copy of his email is with OpIndia. This is followed by a series of text messages sent between 8th May 2010 to 12th May 2010, Deora kept following up with Kapoor. On 20th May 2010, Deora messaged Kapoor that he needs a time frame for when the cheque (for the purchased painting) will be given. “Even if it will take some more time pls give me a date as they are asking me. I only fear that they should not lose interest,” he messaged Kapoor on 20th May 2010.
Same day, he texted again that he has been trying to reach Kapoor since long as even if the payment for painting sale will take time, he needed to convey it to Delhi. “Am afraid that further delays in communicating the date to Delhi will give them the impression that yes bank is not serious,” Deora seems to be hard-selling the painting to Kapoor for Yes Bank. Deora further clarifies that Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra would write a letter to Yes Bank about sale of painting as soon as cheque is received and not prior to that.
As per sources, on 21st May 2010, Deora wrote to Rana Kapoor, addressing him as ‘Rana Uncle’ and said that ‘PG’ (Priyanka Gandhi) will write a letter to Kapoor on the following Monday that she has agreed to sell the painting to him and that she has authorised Deora to negotiate the deal on her behalf. He then allegedly instructed Kapoor that after he receives the letter, he should write to Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra and confirm that he and Deora have agreed on Rs 2 crore for the price of painting and send the cheque along with it.
Deora continues to follow up with Kapoor on 27th May 2010 asking him to get in touch with himself and his father, veteran Congress leader Murli Deora. On 29th May 2010 he says he received the letter Kapoor sent and forwarded it to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. “A meeting with her or her family wont be possible now but I’ll try and arrange it sometime later. Her mother and she want the cheque by early next week itself,” he texts. Deora mentions that even his father was informed about the deal by the Gandhis and he has been trying to get in touch with Kapoor unsuccessfully.
Deora then allegedly mentioned disappointment on how the deal took this long to complete. On 2nd June 2010, after having lost the patience, Deora puts the ultimatum and asks when he could collect the same. “I have been assuring them week after week that its happening and they’ve lost patience at this stage. Please trust me and don’t delay at this stage,” Deora reportedly told ‘Rana Uncle’.
On 3rd June 2010, at 11:52 am, he allegedly messaged Kapoor informing him that he has cancelled his flight and will reach his office by 2 PM to collect the cheque.
Letter by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to Rana Kapoor, Yes Bank in June 2010
On 4th June 2010, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote a letter to Rana Kapoor, at Bungalow No 1, Grand Paradi address in Mumbai. (Note, it is home address from 2010, not addressed to Yes Bank CEO) wherein she mentions she is selling the M F Hussain painting of her father gifted to him by the painter in 1985 on the centenary celebrations of the Congress.
However, it is not yet clear on what capacity did Rajiv Gandhi receive this painting in 1985. Was it gifted to the Prime Minister of India, President of Congress party or in his individual capacity. If the painting was given to Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister, the painting would be public property and it Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will not really be in a position to decide its sale.
If the painting was given to Rajiv Gandhi in his personal capacity and if Rajiv Gandhi died without a will, the same will be divided between the legal heirs, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka herself. If the painting was owned by Congress, since Rajiv Gandhi was INC President in 1985, it becomes property of Congress and Priyanka Gandhi will not be able to sell it unless she is given the power of attorney by the party.
Yes Bank controversy
Yes Bank is in the midst of a crisis as it accumulated a torrent of bad loans in 2018 by lending to corporate defaulters such as DHFL, Jet Airways and Cafe Coffee day and other. The bank was put on a moratorium by RBI for a period of 30 days, capping its withdrawals at Rs 50,000. The Reserve Bank of India has also announced ‘Yes Bank Ltd. Reconstruction Scheme, 2020’, changing the authorised capital to Rs 5000 crores and 2400 equity shares standing at Rs 10 each. In addition, SBI which leads the consortium of banks investing in the ‘reconstructed bank’ will not reduce its holding below 26% before the completion of three years.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor under money laundering charges in the wee hours of Sunday. The banker was held under the provision of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) around 3 AM after he did not cooperate with the officials.
Rana was questioned by the ED sleuths for over 30 hours after the central agency raided his residence on Friday night. He will be produced before a local court during the day to obtain custody, the officials said.
A person who was admitted to the district Wenlock hospital in Mangalaru after he exhibited symptoms of coronavirus had reportedly gone missing. He arrived at the airport in Mangaluru, Karnataka from Dubai on Sunday.
The patient was supposed to be kept under observation for 24 hours and was to be discharged following routine tests. However, he argued with the hospital staff late in the night, saying that he had not contracted the disease and would undergo treatment in a private hospital. He then absconded from the hospital.
On Monday, a formal complaint was lodged by the District Health Department with the Mangaluru police. The cops have now launched an investigation into the case to nab the escapee.
In another incident, a couple (in their 50s) and their son(24) who hail from Ranni in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala with recent travel history to Italy evaded health screening at the airport. They have tested positive for coronavirus.
Kerala Health Minister KK Shylaja was quoted as saying, “The Italy-returned family hid their travel details from the health authorities. Such practices have to seen as a crime. Those who come from countries like Iran, Italy, South Korea and China should report to the health department immediately.” She added that those concealing their travel history to avoid personal inconvenience were committing a crime against society.
Earlier, an Irish national who had suspected coronavirus symptoms had gone ‘missing’ from Odisha’s SCB Medical College. He was later found in a Bhubaneswar hotel.
Amidst the growing concerns of novel Coronavirus, a video of thousands of used coronavirus masks dumped at an isolated spot near Kalher pipeline in Bhiwandi sent ripples of panic wave among the people. Imran Shaikh, a godown staffer, was allegedly seen in the video dumping waste masks.
A complaint was filed by revenue officials. It was reported that the plan may have been to wash the masks, repackage them and sell them as new. However, it has not been verified yet. An FIR was lodged at the Narpoli police late on Sunday night against the Bhiwandi godown staffer.
After being slammed for an alleged nexus between the scam-tainted former MD of Yes Bank, Rana Kapoor and Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress party on Sunday acknowledged and released the details of the sale of the painting to Kapoor by Priyanka Gandhi. Congress leader Randeep Surjewala on Sunday revealed that the painting sold by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was given to Rajiv Gandhi by painter M F Hussain.
The painting was reportedly given to him by the painter in 1985 during the centenary celebration of Congress. This has raised a few questions. If the painting was given to Rajiv Gandhi in 1985, when he was the Prime Minister of India, was it given to the chair he held? If the painting was given to Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister, the painting would be public property and it Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will not really be in a position to decide its sale.
If the painting was given to Rajiv Gandhi in his personal capacity and if Rajiv Gandhi died without a will, the same will be divided between the legal heirs, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka herself. If the painting was owned by Congress, since Rajiv Gandhi was INC President in 1985, it becomes property of Congress and Priyanka Gandhi will not be able to sell it unless she is given the power of attorney by the party.
Earlier, the Income Tax Department had kicked up a storm after it revealed a possibility of an alleged connection between Congress stalwart Priyanka Gandhi and former Managing Director of Yes Bank Rana Kapoor. According to the report, Priyanka Gandhi sold a painting for a whopping Rs 2 crores to Kapoor, raising suspicions over Gandhis’ involvement in the Yes Bank Scam.
Congress and BJP locked horns over the Yes Bank crisis with the ruling party leader Amit Malviya casting aspersions on Gandhi over their purported involvement in the Yes Bank crisis.
Malviya posted a tweet alleging that Gandhis are inextricably linked with every financial crime in India. He tweeted, “Every financial crime in India has a deep link with the Gandhis. Mallya used to send flight upgrade tickets to Sonia Gandhi. Had access to MMS (then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh) and PC (P Chidambaram). Is absconding. Rahul inaugurated Nirav Modi’s bridal jewellery collection, he defaulted. Rana bought Priyanka Vadra’s paintings….”
Responding to the allegations levelled by Malviya, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala on Sunday claimed that the painting sold by Priyanka Gandhi to Rana Kapoor was actually a portrait gifted to the former PM father Rajiv Gandhi by MF Hussain. However, according to the Times Now report, the painting sold by Priyanka Gandhi to Kapoor originally belonged to the Congress party and was gifted to Rajiv Gandhi by MF Hussain on the centenary year of the Congress party in 1985.
Times Now has also accessed a letter dated June 2010 by Priyanka Gandhi in which she acknowledged the purchase of the painting given by MF Hussain to Rajiv Gandhi in 1985. Congress leader Milind Deora facilitated the art sale, addressing him as ‘Rana Uncle’ to contact Vadra to initiate the purchase. As per the Times Now report, the money for the painting was given to Priyanka Gandhi’s office.
Following the revelation, Gandhi is now accused of expropriating a souvenir granted to the Congress party and accruing financial dividends from unilaterally presiding over the sale of the artwork officially belonging to the Congress party. It is still unclear under what capacity did Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sell this painting to Rana Kapoor.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor under money laundering charges in the wee hours of Sunday. The banker was held under the provision of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) around 3 AM after he did not cooperate with the officials.
Rana was questioned by the ED sleuths for over 30 hours after the central agency raided his residence on Friday night. He will be produced before a local court during the day to obtain custody, the officials said.
Yes Bank is in the midst of a crisis as it accumulated a torrent of bad loans in 2018 by lending to corporate defaulters such as DHFL, Jet Airways and Cafe Coffee day and other. The bank was put on a moratorium by RBI for a period of 30 days, capping its withdrawals at Rs 50,000. The Reserve Bank of India has also announced ‘Yes Bank Ltd. Reconstruction Scheme, 2020’, changing the authorised capital to Rs 5000 crores and 2400 equity shares standing at Rs 10 each. In addition, SBI which leads the consortium of banks investing in the ‘reconstructed bank’ will not reduce its holding below 26% before the completion of three years.
Shah Alam, the brother of former AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain, who had been on the run from law enforcement authorities was finally nabbed on Monday by the Delhi Police Crime Branch for his involvement in the Delhi Anti-Hindu riots.
Delhi Police Crime Branch has detained Shah Alam, brother of the suspended AAP Councilor Tahir Hussain (accused in Intelligence Bureau Officer Ankit Sharma murder case). pic.twitter.com/06lGf22eBR
The name of Shah Alam, the brother of accused Tahir Hussain, had come up during the investigation into the Chand Bagh violence. According to the Delhi Police Crime Branch, Shah Alam was also present in that now-infamous multi-story building that belonged to Tahir Hussain when the riots were ongoing.
Tahir Hussain who fled to Nehru Vihar in Mustafabad and stayed in Okhla for two days was nabbed on March 5. He was sent to 7 days judicial custody by a Delhi Court.
It is pertinent to remember that it was allegedly in this building owned by Tahir Hussain where the young IB sleuth, Ankit Sharma brutally tortured (stabbed 400 times for 4 to 6 times) and then murdered by an Islamist mob. Sharma’s body was then dumped into a nearby ditch. The witness statements recorded by the police had pointed to Hussain’s brother being present inside the building as well.
The family of the deceased Ankit Sharma had accused AAP leader Tahir Hussain of the heinous crime. A day after Sharma’s family alleged his role in the riots and his murder, many crates of petrol bombs and stones had been found on the rooftop of the AAP leader.
In addition to that, in the Anti-Hindu riots that erupted in North East Delhi earlier this week, AAP leader Tahir Hussain has emerged as one of the main kingpins. Videos have emerged which show hundreds of people throwing stones, petrol bombs from the roof of his building. Other videos show Tahir Hussain himself supervising the stone and petrol bomb pelting from his building, with a lathi in his hand.
Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, wished the Hindus of the Islamic country a happy Holi on the occasion of the festival. However, Radical Islamists of his country were not pleased. They resorted to attacking their Prime Minister for wishing Pakistani Hindus on the day of their festival.
Some have raked up the communal riots in Delhi to slam Imran khan for wishing Hindus Happy Holi.
Dear prime minister, what Hindus doing with muslims in India, they don’t deserve this compliment and greeting.please don’t break muslims Heart. https://t.co/nYJormBnXQ
— عبدالله يعقوب لغاري (@Leghari273Khan) March 9, 2020
Sharam ani chahiye niyazi tumko india me hindu log muslim per zulam kr rahy hen or tum hindu ko wish kr rhy ho holi ki .i hate u imran niyazi???? https://t.co/vxbRdBgXBn
— Alamdar Mughal Pehalwan Tlp (@AlamdarMughal) March 9, 2020
Others accused the Prime Minister of wishing only non-Hindus on the day of their festivals but not on the day of Islamic festivals.
Kabhi itni muhabat se musalmano ko b kisi tehwar pa mubarak bad de dia karu https://t.co/j5PBeaeCUK
There were others who asked Imran Khan, because he wished Hindus on Holi, “Are you building an Islamic welfare state where Muslim oppressed and minority are safe?
مسلمانوں کی مسجدوں کا گرا کر اور کچھ کو سرکاری زمین قرار دے کر تالہ بندی کرکے اور مذہب کا نعرہ لگانے والوں کا جینا حرام کرکے سکھوں،ہندوٶں اور عیسائیوں کو مذہبی آزادی اور عبادت گاہیں بنا کردے رہے ہیں۔
کیا آپ اسلامی فلاحی ریاست بنا رہے ہیں جہاں مسلمان مظلوم اور اقلیت محفوظ۔
— Muhammad Azmat Ansari (@MAzmatAnsari) March 9, 2020
Then there were those who said that ‘Hindus are not our brothers’ and Imran Khan should instead speak up for Muslims in India. This is after Imran Khan has been crying on the social media platform ever since the abrogation for Article 370.
Hindus are not our brothers so please speak for those J&K and indian Muslims.
Some also advised Imran Khan to take the help of Iran in order to finish the ‘Zalim Hindus’.
Sharam Karo, es jasy zalim ko ap holi ka Mubarak bad da rahy hoon. Ye hindu hy ye ap ka khabi bala nhi chatay. Iran k sath mil kar en banchoodon ko hatam karo. Saudi Arabia k chamche.??
— khushi sajid hussain (@khushisajidhus1) March 9, 2020
Non-Muslims in Pakistan and Hindus especially are persecuted greatly by the Muslims of the country. Women are raped at an alarming frequency, forcibly converted to Islam and life is made hell for them. To help the non-Muslims of the country, the Indian Parliament has passed the Citizenship Amendment Act which reduces the residential requirement for naturalization from 11 to 5 years.
The Allahabad High Court has ordered the Uttar Pradesh government to remove the controversial posters that had identified the anti-CAA rioters in the state by name, address and photographs. As per reports, the HC has directed the administration and police commissioner to file a compliance report by 16 March.
The Bench headed by Chief Justice also directed the District Magistrate and Police Commissioner submit compliance report with Registrar General of High Court by 16th March
As per reports, the bench headed by CJ stated that there is no law that allows the state to place banners displaying names and personal data of the accused from whom compensation is being charged. The HC bench comprised Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Ramesh Sinha.
The HC bench also stated, “why the personal data of these persons have been placed on banners though in the State there are lakhs of accused persons who are facing serious allegations pertaining to the commission of crimes whose personal details have not been subjected to publicity.”
The HC called the posters ‘unwarranted interference in the privacy of people”. The HC bench has ordered the district administration and the divisional commissioner of police to remove the hoardings by March 16.
